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Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State, with a northern boundary marked by Admiralty Pass and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It is about 161 kilometres long, stretching 100 miles south from Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island. The region is centred on Seattle and consists of nine counties, two urban centre cities, and four satellite cities. Puget Sound is often mentioned as the second-largest or the largest estuary by volume in the United States, with a volume of about 168 cubic kilometres.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Location | Coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington |
| Definition | Region of marine and brackish waters extending landward from Admiralty Inlet |
| Size | 161 km in length, 2,350 mi (3,780 km) of shoreline |
| Watershed | Nearly 16,500 sq mi (43,000 km2) |
| Rivers | Skagit, Snohomish, Skagit, Duwamish |
| Population | 4,269,349 (as of 2012) |
| Climate | Warm summer Mediterranean (Csb) with a dry season from May to September |
| Annual average river flow | About 1,174 m3 s-1 |
| Volume | About 168 km3 |
| Estuary | Second-largest in the United States |
| Cities | Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Port Townsend, Bremerton |
| Ports | Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma |
| Industries | Shipbuilding, gold, silver, copper, and lead ore treatment |
| Companies | Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft |
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What You'll Learn
- Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State
- It is part of the Salish Sea, a larger system of inland marine waters
- Puget Sound is 161 km in length, stretching from Admiralty Inlet to Olympia
- The region has a warm summer Mediterranean climate
- The Puget Sound ecosystem is shaped by its physical environment
Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State
The Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State, with its northern boundary marked by Admiralty Pass and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. The sound is the submerged northern end of the Cowlitz-Puget trough, which extends for about 350 miles (565 km) between the Cascade Range and the Coast Ranges. The southern end of this trough is the Willamette River valley. The Puget Sound ecosystem is shaped by its physical environment and the flow of its rivers and currents. Oceanographers define the Puget Sound as the region of marine and brackish waters extending landward from Admiralty Inlet. The deep and complex troughs that make up the Puget Sound were carved by glaciers, most recently about 10,000 years ago. The complex series of waterways were formed from receding glaciers that left the area about 14,000 years ago, cutting deep into the land and forming valleys that eventually flooded, creating the intricate landscape that we know today.
The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington. It includes Puget Sound, the Puget Sound lowlands, and the surrounding region, roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. The region is characterised by a complex array of saltwater bays, islands, and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers. The Puget Sound region was formed by the collision and attachment of many terranes ("microcontinents") to the North American plate between about 50 to 10 million years ago. About 15,000 years ago, during the Vashon Glaciation, the Puget Sound region was covered by a lobe of the Cordilleran ice sheet.
The Puget Sound is about 161 km in length, going from Admiralty Inlet to Olympia. It has many excellent deepwater harbours, including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, and Port Townsend, which serve as outports for rich farmlands along the river estuaries. A naval shipyard at Bremerton adds military shipping to the sound’s large volume of local and international trade. The sound also serves as the southern terminus of the Inside Passage to Alaska. The volume of water in the Puget Sound is about 168 km3, which is substantially larger than the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound, which both have a volume of about 68 km3.
The Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the United States, with 2,350 mi (3,780 km) of shoreline. Its watershed covers nearly 16,500 sq mi (43,000 km2) and over ten thousand rivers and streams drain into it. The Puget Sound is part of a larger estuary called the Salish Sea, which extends into Canada. The Canadian portion of the waterway, often called the Georgia Strait, is much larger than Puget Sound. The surface area of the Salish Sea is about 6,590 square miles, nearly as large as Cook Inlet’s 7,900 and bigger than Chesapeake Bay’s 4,480.
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It is part of the Salish Sea, a larger system of inland marine waters
The Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State, with its northern boundary marked by Admiralty Pass and the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It is part of the Salish Sea, a larger system of inland marine waters that includes the Strait of Georgia and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Salish Sea was named in honour of the indigenous people of the region, the Salish Indians, who originally called the body of water "Whulge". The Canadian portion of the Salish Sea, often called the Georgia Strait, is much larger than Puget Sound. The surface area of the Salish Sea is about 6,590 square miles, making it nearly as large as the Cook Inlet and bigger than the Chesapeake Bay.
The Puget Sound ecosystem is shaped by its physical environment. The deep and complex troughs that make up the Sound were carved by glaciers, most recently about 10,000 years ago. The Sound has remarkable patterns of water circulation that support its thriving ecosystem, and which give rise to water quality problems such as hypoxia. The volume of water in Puget Sound is about 168 cubic kilometres, which is substantially larger than the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound, which both have a volume of about 68 cubic kilometres.
The Puget Sound region is a coastal area of the Pacific Northwest in the U.S. state of Washington. It includes the Puget Sound lowlands and the surrounding region, roughly west of the Cascade Range and east of the Olympic Mountains. The region is characterised by a complex array of saltwater bays, islands, and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers. The Puget Sound region was formed by the collision and attachment of many terranes ("microcontinents") to the North American plate between about 50 to 10 million years ago.
The Puget Sound is about 161 kilometres in length, stretching from Admiralty Inlet to Olympia. It has many excellent deepwater harbours, including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, and Port Townsend, which serve as outports for rich farmlands along the river estuaries. The Sound also serves as the southern terminus of the Inside Passage to Alaska.
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Puget Sound is 161 km in length, stretching from Admiralty Inlet to Olympia
The Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State, with a volume of about 168 cubic kilometres. It is approximately 161 kilometres in length, stretching from Admiralty Inlet in the north to Olympia in the south. The inlet is located between Whidbey Island and the Kitsap Peninsula. The area around Olympia is considered the southern boundary of Puget Sound, where the mainland meets the Olympic Peninsula.
Puget Sound is part of a larger estuary called the Salish Sea, which extends into Canada. The Canadian portion of the waterway is often referred to as the Georgia Strait. Puget Sound is considered the second-largest estuary in the United States by some, but it is also often mentioned as the largest by volume, as it is much deeper than the Chesapeake Bay. The estuary in Puget Sound is influenced by the interaction of tides and rivers, with an annual average river flow of about 1,174 cubic metres per second.
The Puget Sound ecosystem is shaped by its physical environment, with saltwater from the nearby Pacific Ocean mixing with freshwater runoff from the surrounding watershed in western Washington. This sheltered arm of the ocean is located between the mainland of Washington State to the east and the Olympic Peninsula to the west. The region is characterised by a complex array of saltwater bays, islands, and peninsulas carved out by prehistoric glaciers. The deep and intricate troughs that make up Puget Sound were formed by glaciers around 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
The Puget Sound region is centred on Seattle and consists of nine counties, two urban centre cities, and four satellite cities. The two urban core cities, Seattle and Tacoma, have large industrial areas, seaports, and high-rise central business districts. The satellite cities are primarily suburban, featuring smaller industrial areas or ports. The region is also home to numerous ports, with the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma being two of the largest and busiest in North America.
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The region has a warm summer Mediterranean climate
The Puget Sound is a deep inlet of the eastern North Pacific Ocean, stretching for 100 miles (160 km) and indenting the northwestern corner of Washington State in the U.S. The Puget Sound region has a warm summer Mediterranean climate, also known as a Csb climate. This means that the area experiences warm to hot summers and mild winters, with the dry season typically lasting from May to September.
The climate of the Puget Sound region is influenced by its proximity to the ocean, as well as the complex topography of the area, including the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. The interaction between large-scale wind and weather patterns and the region's unique geography creates a varied climate with record-breaking precipitation in certain areas. The Cascade Mountains, in particular, play a significant role in the region's climate, with the areas west of the Cascades experiencing a maritime climate with abundant winter rains and dry summers, while the areas east of the Cascade crest have a more continental climate with more frequent sunshine and drier conditions.
The Puget Sound region's wet season typically lasts from October to April, influenced by the Aleutian Low-pressure system moving in from the northwest. The strength of the Aleutian Low varies from year to year, resulting in fluctuations between dry and wet winter conditions. During the summer months, the region is influenced by the subtropical ridge, which brings dry and warm conditions with minimal cloud coverage. The subtropical high moves north from California, contributing to the dry summer climate in the Puget Sound region.
The driest parts of the region are typically found in the rain shadows of the Olympic Mountains, such as around Sequim and Whidbey Island, which receive significantly less precipitation than the western areas. In contrast, the wettest parts of the region are in the foothills of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains and on the west side of the Sound, receiving over 125 cm of precipitation annually. The variation in precipitation across the region creates diverse habitats and supports a range of species.
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The Puget Sound ecosystem is shaped by its physical environment
The Sound has a warm summer Mediterranean climate, with a wet season from October to April and a dry season from May to September. The annual average river flow into the Sound is about 1,174 cubic metres per second, and a large portion of this comes from the Skagit River flowing into Whidbey Basin. The volume of water in Puget Sound is about 168 cubic kilometres, with an average salinity of about 28.5 parts per thousand.
The Sound has remarkable patterns of water circulation that support its thriving ecosystem. These circulation patterns are a consequence of the shape of the Sound and the interaction of tides and rivers. Puget Sound has many deepwater harbours, including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, and Port Townsend, which serve as outports for rich farmlands along the river estuaries. A naval shipyard at Bremerton adds military shipping to the sound’s large volume of local and international trade.
The Puget Sound region is also home to numerous ports, with the Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma being the two largest and busiest. The region has a rich history, with the Suquamish people travelling its waters in well-designed cedar canoes for thousands of years. In more recent times, the first non-indigenous settlement in the region was New Market (now known as Tumwater) in 1846. Today, the area has grown in international influence, with economic powerhouses such as Boeing, Starbucks, and Microsoft.
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Frequently asked questions
The Puget Sound is a large semi-enclosed fjord in Washington State. It stretches 100 miles (160 km) from Admiralty Inlet and Whidbey Island in the north to Olympia in the south. The watershed covers nearly 16,500 sq mi (43,000 km2).
The Puget Sound is often mentioned as the second-largest estuary in the US by volume, which is substantially larger than the Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound. However, some sources claim that the Puget Sound is the largest estuary in the US by volume.
It would take about five years for all the rivers flowing into the Puget Sound to fill up its volume.
The volume of water in the Puget Sound is about 168 km3.
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